OK boomers—instead of being on the end of an “OK boomer” comment, now you have some ammunition. Boomers have been reported to be less of a cybersecurity vulnerability to the workforce than Gen Z. An article by Karina Zapata of CBC News outlines findings from cybersecurity tech company Check Point that posit Gen Z as a more significant cybersecurity target. Zapata quotes Jane Arnett of Check Point throughout the article on the findings, which include, “Gen Z is three times more attacked, more targeted, and they’re three times more susceptible to be breached.” The cause may be because “being chronically online hasn’t translated into healthy cyber practices for younger generations. That’s because Gen Z is generally online more, uses more apps and shares more personal information on the internet than other generations.”
Not only that, “[t]hey make easier targets in general…and they kind of don’t care.”
A Gen Z quoted in the article says she is surprised to hear that Gen Z is targeted and more prone to fall victim to online scams than boomers, which is a common misconception. She says, “I feel like Gen Z makes fun of boomers for not being safe online.”
So, Gen Z, give boomers a break on this one. They deserve it. Ratchet up your cybersecurity knowledge and safety and try to take the statistic back from the boomers.
And boomers, keep up the good work on being paranoid and protecting your data. And here’s some friendly advice of what not to say to Gen Z. Let the competition begin.